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Chain-die forming can be used to manufacture Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) channel components. Flange wrinkling is one of typical defects for chain-die formed products. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the cause of flange wrinkling in chain-die forming of AHSS and to propose a potential method to suppress it. A hat channel product with a curved axis is formed as a benchmark to illustrate the mechanism of flange wrinkling in chain-die forming. When forming such a profile, longitudinal compressive strain of the sheet metal is geometrically necessary, and the compression has to be achieved by plastic wrinkling due to the insufficient restricted boundary condition. Finite element models are established to better understand the complex interaction between the tools and plate. An initial imperfection calculated from the differential equilibrium equations for elastic plates with small deflections is implemented into the finite element model to predict occurrence of the flange wrinkling. In order to eliminate the wrinkling defect, an M-shaped die design is proposed, which intends to provide additional restriction to the sheet metal and increase longitudinal and transversal tension. A three-factor, three-level Design of Experiment (DOE) scheme for the M-shaped die design is conducted. The DOE results show that a benign wrinkling always corresponds to a larger compressive strain and the width of the ears for M-shaped dies is a decisive factor to suppress wrinkling. The verification experiments show that the plastic flange wrinkling is completely eliminated by employing the proposed method.

To investigate the efficacy and safety of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) plus cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) antibodies ± other therapies in patients with advanced lung cancer.In accordance with the retrieval strategy, we searched electronic databases for randomised controlled trials testing PD-1/PD-L1 plus CTLA-4 antibodies in patients with lung cancer; RR (for objective response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and immune-related adverse events (irAEs)) from individual studies were calculated and pooled by using random-effects models or fixed-effects models; heterogeneity and publication bias analyses were also performed, using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 15.1 for statistical analysis.We included six studies. Four different immune checkpoint inhibitors (nivolumab, pembrolizumab, durvalumab, tremelimumab) were used. Dual checkpoint inhibitors ± other therapies for advanced lung cancer showed significant improvements in ORR (RR 1.49, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.98; p=0.007), OS (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.83; p0.00001), and PFS (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.82; p0.00001). The subgroup analyses were consistent with the pooled results. The PD-L1 ≥1% (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.82; p0.0001) subgroup differences indicated a statistically significant subgroup effect, but the PD-L11% subgroup (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.75 to 1.05; p=0.15) was not statistically significant. The incidence of adverse events (grade ≥3) was lower than that of the control group (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.02; p=0.09), but was not significant.PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors combined with CTLA-4 inhibitors ± other therapies can improve the ORR, OS and PFS of patients with advanced or metastatic lung cancer, but the incidence of adverse reactions is high although generally tolerable.CRD42020149216.

With the upsurge of "emotional storm" in the field of organizational behavior, the studies on individual emotions in organizational context are rising. Especially the relationship between emotions and knowledge innovation has attracted much attention by scholars. In particular, individual emotions may exert great effect on knowledge innovation whereas the mechanism is still unclear. Based on the emotional event theory, this paper constructs a model which explores the interaction of positive and negative emotions with individual knowledge innovation. Based on questionnaire data analysis, the results show that knowledge sharing partly mediate the relationship between positive emotion and knowledge innovation as well as the relationship between negative emotion and knowledge innovation; team trust accentuates the relationship between positive emotion and knowledge innovation as well as the relationship between negative emotion and knowledge innovation. The above findings are helpful to clarify the impact mechanism of emotions on knowledge innovation.

BACKGROUND The longitudinal association between persistent moderate to severe pain and subsequent long-term cognitive decline remains inconclusive. METHODS Study population came from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, an ongoing prospective and nationally representative cohort of community-dwelling adults aged ≥50 years in England. At waves 1 (2002/2003) and 2 (2004/2005) of the study, pain severity was measured based on pain intensity scores ranged from 0 to 10. We defined moderate to severe pain as pain intensity scores ≥5 points. Persistent moderate to severe pain was defined as participants reported moderate to severe pain at both waves 1 and 2. Standardized global cognitive Z scores derived from verbal memory, temporal orientation and semantic fluency were used as the primary outcome. RESULTS A total of 6,869 individuals (3,896 women; mean age: 63.9 ± 9.5 years) who have accepted twice measurements of pain at waves 1 and 2 (baseline), and at least one reassessment of cognitive function at waves 3 (2006/2007) to 8 (2016/2017), were included in this study. Each 5-point increase in the sum of pain intensity scores was associated with a faster rate of -0.009 (95% CI: -0.013 to -0.006, p

Chronic periodontitis (CP) is a common inflammatory illness affecting a large proportion of humans. Genetic factors are thought to play important roles in its onset and development. A functional polymorphism (rs1800587) in the promoter of the interleukin-1α gene (−889 C/T) has been found to confer risk of CP primarily in Europeans, but the association between this variant and CP in the Chinese population remains less conclusive. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the association between rs1800587 and CP in case-control samples of Han Chinese origin. A total of 1,777 study subjects, including 884 CP patients and 893 healthy controls, were collected. Genotyping of rs1800587 was performed using the SNAPSHOT method, and statistical analyses were conducted to evaluate the association between rs1800587 and CP. In our sample, rs1800587 was significantly associated with the onset of CP (additive model, T-allele vs. C-allele, p = 0.00359, odds ratio = 1.446, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = 1.127–1.855; dominant model, (TT + TC) vs. CC, p = 0.00250, odds ratio = 1.502, 95% CIs = 1.152–1.957; overdominant model, TC vs. (TT + CC), p = 0.00264, odds ratio = 1.508, 95% CIs = 1.152–1.976). The T-allele and [TC] genotypes of rs1800587 were significantly overrepresented in CP patients compared with controls. Our data suggest that rs1800587 of IL-1α is significantly associated with the risk of CP in Han Chinese subjects, further confirming its possible involvement in the disease.

Ammonia and hydrogen are examples of zero-carbon fuels of high interest for implementation in gas turbine technologies. However, large emissions of nitrogen oxides are still a major detrimental for the implementation of these technologies. Therefore, various techniques have been presented as potential solutions to mitigate this problem. Rich-Quench-Lean systems combined with humidified atmospheres are amongst the most promising with the reduction of emissions as a consequence of recombinations of species and lower combustion temperatures. However, limited scrutiny exists around the chemical progression of species in systems like these whilst being fuelled with ammonia blends. Furthermore, any chemical study currently faces a challenge for the selection of a chemical kinetic mechanism due to the great variety of available mechanisms for ammonia combustion, each with different characteristics for the resolution of this fuel. Thus, a Chemical Reactor Network (CRN) has been developed to numerically assess an industry scale humidified Rich-Quench Lean system, utilising five of the most used chemical kinetic models in humidified ammonia combustion whilst informing developers of the differences between those selected. The results displayed significant differences between the mechanisms as the flame progresses. Sensitivity analyses of [OH] and [NH3] displayed similar reactions having opposing effects for these two species at various points of the burner. Quantitative Reaction Path Diagrams (QRDP) for NO showed both similarities and differences between the mechanisms in terms of paths taken and rates of production.

The ever-increasing resolution puts tremendous pressure to the onboard hyperspectral imaging system. Compressed sensing technology is one of the important ways to solve this problem. Distributed compressed sensing was proposed to exploit both intra- and inter-correlation structures of hyperspectral images. However, the implementation method of distributed compressed sampling has not been reported, and the joint sparsity reconstruction algorithm cannot achieve excellent image reconstruction performance. In this paper, a distributed compressed sampling strategy inspired by distributed compressed video sensing and optical implementation model are proposed to collect compressed hyperspectral data. In the image reconstruction process, we discard the direct application of the joint sparsity constraint on the data itself. Instead, we explore the estimation method of abundance and endmember with the help of the existing spectral library. Then, the images are recovered by applying the linear mixing model of hyperspectral. The comparison experiments of various schemes show that the proposed compressed sensing scheme has an obvious advantage in reconstruction performance under the low sampling rate. The proposed compressed sensing scheme has great potential in a high-compression ratio onboard hyperspectral imaging system.

Tirofiban can be used to treat patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tirofiban combined with heparin in the treatment of mild to moderate AIS. A total of 98 patients with mild to moderate AIS randomly were divided into 2 groups within 48 h: the treatment group treated with tirofiban and, and the control group treated with aspirin + clopidogrel. The treatment group was given the same scheme as the control group after the treatment of tirofiban combined with heparin for 48 h. It was found that, compared with the control group, a significant decreased National Institute of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) was found in 48 h and 14 d, especially to the Barthel index (BI) in the treatment group (P 0.05). Furthermore, Modified Rankin Scale (MRS, ≤2) in the treatment group was significantly upregulated in 90 d (P 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the adverse drug reactions between the two groups. It was indicated that nerve function and long-term prognosis in patients undergoing heparin for mild to moderate AIS were obviously improved than the control group.

Background To determine the optimal cut-off values and evaluate the associations of product of triacylglycerol and glucose (TyG), lipid accumulation product (LAPI), visceral adiposity index (VAI) with chronic kidney diseases (CKD) stratified by sex. Methods From January to April 2018, our team had conducted a large-scale cross-sectional survey that contained 2720 individuals on the southern coast of China. Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were used to evaluate the optimal cut-off and value of TyG, LAPI, VAI for predicting CKD. Results A multivariate logistic regression analysis found that the TyG had the better value of prediction for the presence of CKD for the highest quartile vs the lowest quartile in both males (OR: 3.65; 95% CI, 2.04-6.52; p

Objective To explore whether the red blood cell count multiplied by hematocrit index (RBCHct) in blood routine parameters can indicate the risk of impaired fasting blood glucose (IFG), and whether it is related to insulin resistance and inflammation. Methods In this cross-sectional study, previous history of diabetes was excluded, and people with normal and impaired IFG were included. We use Spearman analysis to evaluate the correlation between RBCHct index and fasting plasma glucose, insulin resistance homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR), and hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). Binary logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the RBCHct index for assessing the potential risk of IFG, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the RBCHct index for diagnosing insulin resistance and chronic low-grade inflammatory efficacy among those with IFG. Results Correlation analysis showed that the RBCHct index and fasting plasma glucose (r=0.088, P=0.003); HOMA-IR (r=0.199, P

Xiaolin Li,1,2 Ting Su,3 Hua Xiao,1 Peichun Gao,4 Chongxiang Xiong,1 Jinghua Liu,3 Hequn Zou1 1Department of Nephrology, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510630, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Endocrinology, Hunan University of Medicine, Huaihua 418000, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 3Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Proteomics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, People’s Republic of China; 4School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510080, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jinghua LiuGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Proteomics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 20 61648392Fax +86 20 61648231Email liujhua@smu.edu.cnHequn ZouDepartment of Nephrology, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, 183 Zhongshan Dadao, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510630, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 20 62784393Fax +86 20 62784399Email hequnzou@hotmail.comPurpose: To explore the association between the anti-inflammatory and renal protective roles of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and its different levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), hypertension (HTN), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and to lay a theoretical basis for precise, maximum-benefit HDL-c-raising therapy for patients with these diseases.Patients and Methods: A total of 2127 participants (195 with T2D, 618 with HTN, 162 with CKD, and 1152 controls) were selected and divided into four groups according to their baseline HDL-c level, namely, low HDL-c (L-HDL-c, ≤ 1.03 mmol/L), medium HDL-c (M-HDL-c, 1.04– 1.55 mmol/L), high HDL-c (H-HDL-c, 1.56– 2.05 mmol/L) and extremely high HDL-c (E-HDL-c, ≥ 2.06 mmol/L). Serum and morning urine samples were collected to analyze the correlation between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (HsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), urine n-acetyl-β-d-glucosidase (U-NAG), retinol binding protein (RBP), and cystatin c (Cys-C) levels with the HDL-c levels.Results: The HDL-c levels of patients with T2D, HTN and CKD were universally lower than those in the control group in both sexes (p< 0.05), while male patients also manifested a lower level of HDL-c than female patients. However, although they had lower values of the renal impairment index, female patients were found to have anomalously higher amounts of proinflammatory cytokines. In addition, the correlations between HsCRP and RBP levels and HDL-c levels were most significant in patients with HTN (p< 0.05), whereas in patients with T2D and CKD, such relevance was less significant.Conclusion: Existence of substantial differences in HDL-c levels between different types of disease and sex highlighted that a higher HDL level does not always predict a better clinical outcome of patients. Moreover, we found that both HsCRP and RBP correlated negatively with HDL-c in HTN patients, indicating that monitoring HsCRP and RBP may serve as indicators for therapeutic efficacy of HDL-c-raising medications in HTN patients.Keywords: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, anti-inflammation, renal protection, sex difference, functional heterogeneity

A reasonable and effective macromolecular model of bituminous coal was established. The molecular dynamics method based on reactive force field (ReaxFF) was used to simulate the pyrolysis process of typical bituminous coal in the range of 1400–2600 K. The distribution of products and evolution of intermediate radicals were analyzed. Calculation results showed that with increase of pyrolysis temperature, yield of char firstly increased and then decreased, while the trend in tar production was opposite. Yield of pyrolysis gas increased monotonously with increasing temperature. The pyrolysis of coal at low temperature mainly experienced primary reaction with formation of tar free radical fragments and small molecular gases. At high temperature, the secondary reaction of tar fragments was remarkable, and char with more content but less quantity and small molecular gas with more content and quantity were produced. The temperature turning point from the primary reaction to the second one was 2000 K. Under the high temperature pyrolysis conditions, C and H in coal gradually migrated into char and tar, while oxygen-containing functional groups were more active, resulting in migration of O to pyrolysis gases. In the secondary reaction stage, comparing chemical properties of the three elements C, H and O, O was the most active, H was the second, and C was the most stable. H2O was firstly released during pyrolysis. NH3 mainly came from secondary reactions during which H2S was consumed and converted into other products. Yield of H2 was the highest, and increased with increasing pyrolysis temperature. A large amount of H2 was generated in secondary reactions, which was mainly from collision of hydrogen radicals generated from pyrolysis and condensation of aromatic structures. Based on ReaxFF simulation results, the weightless activation energy of coal pyrolysis was 39.45 kJ/mol.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic disorders have become an epidemic globally. However, the pathogenesis remains largely unclear and the prevention and treatment are still limited. In addition to environmental factors during adulthood, early life is the critical developmental window with high tissue plasticity, which might be modified by external environmental cues. Substantial evidence has demonstrated the vital role of early-life nutrition in programming the metabolic disorders in later life. In this review, we aim to overview the concepts of fetal programming and investigate the effects of early-life nutrition on energy metabolism in later life and the potential epigenetic mechanism. The related studies published on PubMed database up to March 2020 were included. The results showed that both maternal overnutrition and undernutrition increased the riskes of metabolic disorders in offspring and epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, miRNAs, and histone modification, might be the vital mediators. The beneficial effects of early-life lifestyle modifications as well as dietary and nutritional interventions on these deleterious metabolic remolding were initially observed. Overall, characterizing the early-life malnutrition that reshapes metabolic disease trajectories may yield novel targets for early prevention and intervention and provide a new point of view to the energy metabolism.

Obesity has become a global health problem. Lifestyle modification and medical treatment only appear to yield short-term weight loss. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is the most popular bariatric procedure, and it sustains weight reduction and results in the remission of obesity-associated comorbidities for obese individuals. However, patients who undergo this surgery may develop hypoglycemia. To date, the diagnosis is challenging and the prevalence of post-RYGB hypoglycemia (PRH) is unclear. RYGB alters the anatomy of the upper gastrointestinal tract and has a combined effect of caloric intake restriction and nutrient malabsorption. Nevertheless, the physiologic changes after RYGB are complex. Although hyperinsulinemia, incretin effects, dysfunction of β-cells and α-cells, and some other factors have been widely investigated and are reported to be possible mediators of PRH, the pathogenesis is still not completely understood. In light of the important role of the gut microbiome in metabolism, we hypothesized that the gut microbiome might also be a critical link between RYGB and hypoglycemia. In this review, we mainly highlight the current possible factors predisposing individuals to PRH, particularly related to the gut microbiota, which may yield significant insights into the intestinal regulation of glucose metabolic homeostasis and provide novel clues to improve the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Bin Cui,1 Zhaohui Dong,2 Mengmeng Zhao,3 Shanshan Li,4 Hua Xiao,4 Zhitao Liu,4 Xiaowei Yan5 1School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, People’s Republic of China; 2Human Resources and Social Security, Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, School of Pharmacy, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, People’s Republic of China; 4Medical Affairs, Bayer Healthcare Company Limited (China), Beijing, 100020, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Cardiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, 100730, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xiaowei YanPeking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing 100730, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail yanxiaowei2019@gmail.comObjective: To analyze the adherence to antihypertensive drugs in Chinese patients with hypertension and the factors associated with the drug adherence.Methods: The data for this analysis were obtained from the 2014 China Health Insurance Association (CHIRA) database. The study included 64,576 patients aged ≥ 18 years who were prescribed one of the seven antihypertensive drugs included in the study in their first prescription in 2014 and were observed for ≥ 180 days. The medicine possession ratio (MPR) was calculated and taken as the measure of treatment adherence. MPR values < 0.3, 0.3 to < 0.5, 0.5 to < 0.8, and ≥ 0.8 were considered treatment adherence very low, low, intermediate, and high, respectively. Descriptive statistics were used to present baseline data and treatment adherence rate. Multiple regression models were used to determine independent factors which can affect the treatment adherence rate. P-value < 0.05 was considered significant.Results: Among the study antihypertensive drugs, amlodipine (33.98%), metoprolol (25.04%), and nifedipine (17.15%) were the frequently prescribed drugs. Nifedipine controlled release tablet had the highest MPR (0.61), followed by valsartan (0.53), valsartan/amlodipine fixed-dose combination (0.50), indapamide (0.40), and amlodipine (0.39), whereas benazepril (0.27) and metoprolol (0.19) had the lowest MPR. Higher reimbursement ratio, regular tertiary hospitals visits, lower age, and lower daily medical cost positively affected treatment adherence, whereas longer duration of illness and higher daily average cost affected treatment adherence negatively.Conclusion: Our study assessed that prescribing more cost-effective, long-acting antihypertensive drugs, and raising the reimbursement ratio were associated with a better treatment adherence in Chinese patients with hypertension.Keywords: treatment adherence, medicine possession ratio, hypertension, antihypertensive treatment

We investigate the effects of the hole transport layer (HTL) and the buffer layer in a CdSe/ZnS quantum-dot LED (QLED) to reveal several important performance trade-offs in the QLED design. Our fabricated QLED samples show that, among the three common HTL materials, poly(9-vinlycarbazole) (PVK), poly[N,N'-bis(4-butylphenyl)-N,N'-bis(phenyl)-benzidine] (polyTPD), and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-N-(4-(3-methylpropyl)) diphenylamine) (TFB), PVK provides the highest luminance of 1.0 × 10 5 cd/m 2 , but the smallest modulation bandwidth of 2.0 MHz, while TFB provides the lowest luminance of 5.8 × 10 4 cd/m 2 , but the largest bandwidth of 6.5 MHz. For each HTL material, there exists an optimal HTL thickness for the illumination performance, but the bandwidth decreases with an increase in the HTL thickness. The incorporation of a LiF buffer layer in a QLED can significantly increase the luminance, but at the expense of the modulation bandwidth. Our results are useful for the design of QLEDs for visible light communication applications.

The aim of this work was to determine whether tumor resection could improve the prognosis of M1a nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. We obtained patient data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and used propensity score matching (PSM) to reduce the influence of confounding variables. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify independent prognostic factors, and the prediction results were visualized using the nomogram. A total of 772 patients with and without tumor resection were enrolled after PSM, and the nomogram combined with independent prognostic factors including age, sex, histological type, grade, T stage, N stage, chemotherapy, and surgery showed great prediction and discriminatory ability. Tumor resection is possibly a better choice for these patients.

It shows that detrimental exposures and conditions in mothers can lead to the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes in offspring. This can lead to a vicious cycle of metabolic dysfunction, where rising rates of obesity, pre-diabetes, and diabetes in individuals of reproductive age, propagating risks to subsequent generations. It is well established that regular exercise has important health benefits for people with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Recently, increasing studies aim to examine the effects of maternal exercise on metabolic health in offspring. This review aims to demonstrate the evidence linking maternal exercise during critical periods of development and its implications for glucose metabolism in offspring, including intervention timing, sexual dimorphism, different exercise type, and intensity. Then we further examine the potential role of epigenetic modifications in this process.

Objective To investigate which plasma lipid parameters are useful for detecting chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a Chinese population without known CKD or renal impairment. Methods This was a prospective study. In southern Chinese cities from 2012 to 2013, a total of 1037 subjects aged ≥ 18 years old received a survey. Logistic regression and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. The lipid parameters studied included total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (nHDL-C), TG/HDL-C ratio, TC/HDL-C ratio and nHDL-C/HDL-C ratio. Results After adjusting for confounding factors, the fourth percentile of logTG/HDL-C was observed to be an independent risk factor for CKD (OR = 2.453, P < 0.001), and the highest quantile of the logTG/HDL-C ratio was associated with a higher prevalence of CKD (P < 0.05). This risk was reduced when the model was adjusted with Insulin resistance (IR) (OR = 2.034, P < 0.05). In the group of women, glucose metabolism disorders, high uric acid, and obesity, this risk was increased. Multiple regression models showed that log TG and nonHDL-C/HDL-C were negatively correlated with eGFR (P < 0.05), while log TG and TC were positively correlated with logACR (P < 0.05). The area under the curve (ROC) of lgTG/HDL was 0.623 (p < 0.001). Conclusion The serum logTG/HDL-C ratio is the only suitable predictor of CKD, and IR may be the mechanism. This risk needs to be controlled in a specific population. Log TG and nonHDL-C/HDL-C were negatively correlated with eGFR, while log TG and TC were positively correlated with logACR.

The emergence of cross-border e-commerce has brought new opportunities to traditional enterprises. This paper discusses the partner selection of cross-border e-commerce companies in the B2B mode. It constructs a theoretical model of partner selection of cross-border e-commerce enterprises based on literature review. Through the mathematical analysis of an asymmetric evolutionary game model, it is considered that the model has an evolutionarily stable strategy. Based on it, a multi-agent model is constructed. The results of the simulation reveal the mediation role of trust between corporate reputation and enterprise cooperation. Simultaneously, it verified the moderation effect of information sharing between the trust and cooperation of cross-border e-commerce companies. It also provides explanations for the inconsistency in the relationship between trust and cooperative behavior. From both mathematical and data perspectives, this paper attempts to test the theoretical model proposed, which enriches the methodology to test the theory.

Purpose To investigate the correlation between visceral obesity and pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) among non-diabetic individuals, and to evaluate the potential of visceral adiposity index (VAI) as a predictor of CKD. Patients and Methods From December 2017 to March 2018, 1877 non-diabetic participants (male n=699, female n=1208) in southern China were recruited for a cross-sectional survey. Males and females were divided into four groups according to gender-specific quartiles of VAI scores. A logistic regression model was established to analyze the correlation between visceral adiposity index and CKD. Results Visceral adiposity index was positively correlated with CKD and was negatively associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Using group one as the control, odds ratios (ORs) were calculated to determine the risk of developing CKD as VAI increased (male: group four 2.73 [P

Guo-bao Hong,1,2 Pei-chun Gao,1,3 Yun-yin Chen,1 Yue Xia,1 Xiao-su Ke,1 Xiao-fei Shao,1 Chong-xiang Xiong,1 Hai-shan Chen,1 Hua Xiao,1 Jing Ning,1 He-qun Zou1 1Department of Nephrology, Institute of Nephrology and Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Nephrology, The Affiliated Nanhai Hospital of Southern Medical University, Foshan 528200, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: He-qun ZouDepartment of Nephrology, Institute of Nephrology and Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-20-6278-4391Email hequnzou@hotmail.comPurpose: Metabolic syndrome (MetS), characterized by a constellation of insulin resistance, central obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, is a global health threat. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) has been shown to be associated with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease; however, its association with incident MetS is less known. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the prospective association between hs-CRP and MetS among a Chinese population in a 5-year follow-up study.Patients and Methods: The levels of hs-CRP were measured using serum samples collected at baseline recruitment in 2012 from 886 participants without MetS. Follow-up interviews were conducted in 2018, and MetS was diagnosed by 2017 criteria from the Chinese Diabetes Society. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the overall and sex-specific associations between hs-CRP and incident MetS. The odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed with adjustment for demographic, socioeconomic, clinical, and lifestyle factors.Results: After a mean follow-up duration of 5.40 ± 0.56 years, 116 (13.3%) participants developed MetS. In the total study population, increased hs-CRP levels were associated with a higher risk of MetS (OR comparing extreme quartiles of hs-CRP: 4.06 [95% CI: 1.91– 8.65]) in the fully-adjusted model. When stratified by sex, the positive association was only observed in women (OR: 4.82 [1.89– 12.3]) but not in men (OR: 3.15 [0.82– 12.1]; P-interaction = 0.039).Conclusion: In this study of a Chinese population, a positive association between hs-CRP and incident MetS was found only in women and not in men. Sex-specific prediction and intervention of MetS using hs-CRP as a target should be further evaluated.Keywords: inflammation, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, metabolic syndrome, cohort study, follow up

We propose an equivalent circuit for a quantum-dot LED (QLED), where the resistances and the capacitances are expressed in terms of the physical parameters of the QLED. The validity of the equivalent circuit is verified by measurement results. From the measured frequency response of the QLED and the calculated frequency response of the equivalent circuit, we are able to deduce the carrier lifetime in the active layer of the QLED. The availability of the equivalent circuit can facilitate the analysis of the electrical characteristics of QLEDs.

Compressed sensing is one of the key technologies to reduce the volume of hyperspectral image for real-time storage and transmission. Reconstruction based on spectral unmixing show tremendous potential in hyperspectral compressed sensing compared with other conventional algorithms that directly reconstruct images. In this article, a joint spatial-spectral joint compressed sensing scheme is proposed. In this scheme, compressed hyperspectral data are collected by spatial-spectral hybrid compressed sampling. As for the reconstruction, an objective function is developed by introducing the fidelity constraints of spatial and spectral measurements and the row sparsity constraint of abundance that guarantee the precise reconstruction of hyperspectral images and obtain endmembers and abundances as by-products accurately. An augmented Lagrangian type algorithm is meticulously elaborated to solve the above optimization problem. Extensive experimental results on several real hyperspectral datasets indicate that the proposed approach can achieve a reconstruction accuracy higher than those of other state-of-the-art methods. The efficiency and feasibility of the proposed scheme give it great potential in hyperspectral compressed sensing.

Benign recurrent meningitis, also known as Mollaret’s meningitis (MM), is characterized by recurrent headache, fever, meningeal irritation and sterility of cerebrospinal fluid examination, which is rare in clinic. Although with clear diagnostic criteria, there are still many unclear aspects of its pathogenesis, and treatment of this disease. The author reported a case of benign recurrent aseptic meningitis, who had three episodes of acute headache with or without fever. The patient was treated with ceftriaxone, acyclovir and cefazoxime for the first time, cefazoxime, cefimidazole and mebendazole for the second time, and piperacillin and acyclovir for the third time. The results showed that the patient did not recover completely in the first two times and fully recovered at the third time. Based on the current research, the author believes that for MM, mainly symptomatic relief, indomethacin should be recommended, and too much antiviral treatment is not needed.

Background The biological behavior of early recurrence is more invasive and the prognosis is worse in gastric cancer (GC). The risk of early recurrence (ER) for GC in stage II/III has not been reported of which the majority of GC patients are in China. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the ER of gastric cancer in stage II/III. Methods The medical records of 1511 consecutive stage II/III GC patients who received resections were retrospectively reviewed. They were randomly classified into either a development or validation group at a ratio of 7:3. The nomogram was constructed based on prognostic factors using logistic regression analysis and was validated by bootstrap resampling and validation dataset, respectively. Concordance index (C-index) values and calibration curves were used to evaluate the predictive accuracy and discriminatory capability. Results Three hundred eleven patients experienced ER, accounting for 20.58% of the GC patients investigated. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified tumors located at upper, middle third, or mixed, a positive lymph node ratio ≥ 0.335, pTNM stage III, lymphocyte count < 1.5 × 109/L, postoperative infection complications and adjuvant chemotherapy < 6 cycles were all independent predictors for ER after curative resection of stage II/III GC. The C-index value obtained for the model was 0.780 (95% CI, 0.747–0.813), and the calibration curves of validation group yielded a C-index value of 0.739 (95% CI, 0.684–0.794), suggesting the practicability of the model. Conclusions The nomogram which was developed for predicting ER of stage II/III GC after surgery had good accuracy and was verified through both internal and external validation. The nomogram established can assist clinicians in determining the optimal therapy strategies in counseling, adjuvant treatments, and subsequent follow-up planning.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the differences in the relationship between hair cortisol concentration (HCC) and psychosocial stress, social support, clinical features, clinical course, and outcome in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Methods A total of 109 schizophrenia patients, 93 bipolar disorder patients and 86 healthy controls between 18 and 60 years old were enrolled in the study. Linear regression and factor analysis were employed to examine and compare the relationship between HCC and childhood trauma, the number of stressful life events, the amount of social support in the three months before the hair cortisol assessment, clinical fearures, clinical course, and outcome in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Results HCC is significantly associated with clinical syndromes, including depression–anxiety factor of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale in schizophrenia patients, and thought disorder in bipolar disorder patients. However, HCC is positively related to social support and personality traits only in schizophrenia patients but not in bipolar disorder patients. Factor analysis indicates schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share a very similar but somewhat different structure in terms of HCC, psychosocial stress, social support, clinical features, clinical course, and outcome. Conclusion Findings support that schizophrenia and bipolar disoder have a significant overlap in both clinical characteristics and enviromental risk factors. Aberrant HCC contributes to the complexity of clinical characteristics mainly in schizophrenia., HCC is associated with the severity of clinical syndromes in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.HCC is related to social support and personality traits in schizophrenia but not in bipolar disorder.Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have a significant overlap in clinical characteristics.

Background JAK1 and JAK2 have been implicated in fibrosis and cancer as a fibroblast-related marker; however, their role in liver fibrosis has not been elucidated. Here, we aim to determine the effect and underlying mechanism of JAK1/2 inhibition on liver fibrosis and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and further explore the therapeutic efficacy of Ruxolitinib, a JAK1/2 selective inhibitor, on preventing and reversing liver fibrosis in mice. Methods Immunohistochemistry staining of JAK1 and JAK2 were performed on liver tissue in mice with hepatic fibrosis and human liver tissue microarray of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. LX-2 cells treated with specific siRNA of JAK1 and JAK2 were used to analysis activation, proliferation and migration of HSCs regulated by JAK1/2. The effects of Ruxolitinib (JAK1/2 inhibitor) on liver fibrosis were studied in LX-2 cells and two progressive and reversible fibrosis animal models (carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), Thioacetamide (TAA)). Results We found that JAK1/2 expression was positively correlated with the progression of HCC in humans and the levels of liver fibrosis in mice. Silencing of JAK1/2 down-regulated their downstream signaling and inhibited proliferation, migration, and activation of HSCs in vitro, while Ruxolitinib had similar effects on HSCs. Importantly, Ruxolitinib significantly attenuated fibrosis progression, improved cell damage, and accelerated fibrosis reversal in the liver of mice treated with CCl4 or TAA. Conclusions JAK1/2 regulates the function of HSCs and plays an essential role in liver fibrosis and HCC development. Its inhibitor, Ruxolitinib, may be an effective drug for preventing and treating liver fibrosis.

Background The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains a major threat to public health. At present, it is recommended that patients with known or suspected COVID-19 undergo quarantine or medical observation for 14 days. However, recurrent SARS-CoV-2 RNA positivity and prolonged viral shedding have been documented in convalescent COVID-19 patients, complicating efforts to control viral spread and ensure patient recovery. Case presentation We report the case of a patient who experienced two recurrent episodes of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and IgM positivity and viral shedding over 60 days during hospitalization. Conclusions This case report demonstrates that relapses of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and IgM positivity may occur even after COVID-19 symptoms have resolved, possibly as a consequence of prolonged viral shedding rather than re-infection.

A dual-band (2.45 and 12 GHz) and wide-angle MS (short for metasurface) for RF (short for radio frequency) energy harvesting is proposed in this research. This structure can maintain a high efficiency over 90% at 2.45 GHz for electromagnetic wave harvesting as conventional ones, and can operate in another frequency band with efficiency of at least 90%. For verification, a prototype is fabricated and measured in an anechoic chamber. The experimental results corroborate the proposed MS performs well with the efficiency of more than 80% for wide-angle incident waves in all frequency bands. Isolated by a wide band between both resonances points, the MS structure can provide alternative sources to wireless sensor network (WSN) without mutual interference.

Background: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a complex metabolic disease caused by complicated factors, the pathogenesis of which has not been determined. Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) could effectively regulate blood sugar and influence gut microbiota in T2DM patients. Preliminary studies showed that the coptis root and ginseng (RG) formula could relieve insulin resistance and regulate the progression of diabetes in mice. The purpose of this study is to explore the efficacy and safety of RG formula in the treatment of adult patients with T2DM, as well as observing its effects on gut microbiota.Methods and analysis: This trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. A total of 60 participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio into an experiment group (RG formula) and a control group (placebo). Patients in both groups will be given diabetes education and basic blood glucose control. Glucose-lowering drugs with significant influence on gut microbiota will be avoided. This trial will last 25 weeks including 1 week run-in, 12 weeks intervention and 12 weeks follow-up visit. The primary outcome is the change in the HbA1c. The secondary outcomes comprise the change in the fasting blood glucose(FBG), postprandial blood glucose(PBG) fasting insulin(FIL), fasting C-peptide(C-P), insulin resistance index(IRI), inflammatory factors and species abundance of gut microbiota between the two groups. Safety in medication will also be evaluated. The correlation analysis will be explored between the glycemic indicators,inflammatory factors and abundance of gut microbiota.Discussion: This study will provide the clinical evidence for the efficacy of RG formula in regulating blood sugar and influencing gut microbiota, which will be beneficial to form the integrated therapeutic regimen in T2DM with TCM.Trial registration: “Clinical Study on the Intervention of Coptis Root and Ginseng”, Chinese Clinical Trials Registry ChiCTR 2100042126. Registered on 14 January, 2021, http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=42669&htm=4

Background Prevention and control (P&C) of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still a critical task in most countries and regions. However, there are many single evaluation indexes to assess the quality of COVID-19 P&C. It is necessary to synthesize the single evaluation indexes reasonably to obtain the overall evaluation results. Methods This study was divided into three steps. Step 1: In February 2020, the improved Delphi method was used to establish the quality evaluation indexes system for COVID-19 P&C. Step 2: in March 2020, the CRITIC method was used to adjust the Order Relation Analysis (G1) method to obtain the subjective and objective (S&O) combination weights. The comprehensive evaluation value was obtained using the weighted Efficacy Coefficient (EC) method, weighted TOPSIS method, weighted rank-sum ratio (RSR) method, and weighted Grey Relationship Analysis (GRA) method. Finally, the linear normalization method was used to synthesize the evaluation values of different evaluation methods. Step 3: From April 2020 to May 2021, this evaluation method was used to monitor and assess COVID-19 P&C quality in critical departments prospectively. The results were reported to the departments monthly. Result A quality evaluation indexes system for COVID-19 P&C was established. Kendall’s consistency test shows that the four evaluation method had good consistency (χ2 = 43.429, PP P Conclusions The combined comprehensive evaluation method based on the S&O combined weight was more scientific and comprehensive than the single weighting and evaluation methods. In addition, monitoring and feedback of COVID-19 P&C quality were helpful for the improvement of P&C quality.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene is frequently mutated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which can be targeted by EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). It is hard, however, to monitor the performance of EGFR-TKI therapy dynamically. Therefore, therapeutic indicators are urgently needed. Novel antibody microarray, containing 41,472 antibodies, was used for comprehensive analyzing of serum samples from 9 normal subjects and 9 EGFR mutated lung adenocarcinoma patients at three EGFR-TKI treatment time points, including before treatment (Baseline), partial response (PR) during treatment, and disease progression (PD) after resistance. Through microarray data analysis, five candidate antibodies were screened out for confirmation in serum samples and the verified one was utilized for candidate protein identification through immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry strategy. A novel protein, isoform 2 of fibrinogen alpha chain (FGA2), was revealed and verified in the discovery sample set. Its performance as therapy indicator was further evaluated in another pre-validation sample set (n = 60). Our data confirmed that serum FGA2 level was correlated with EGFR-TKI response (p < 0.05). The expression and secretion of FGA2 in hepatocytes were inhibited by EGFR-TKI, partially explaining the downregulation of FGA2 in serum. Our results demonstrate that FGA2 is an indicator of targeted therapy for EGFR mutated lung adenocarcinoma. KEY MESSAGES: Antibody microarray was coupled with mass spectrometry for proteomics research. FGA2 was discovered as an indicator of EGFR-TKI targeted therapy. FGA2's expression/secretion in hepatocytes was dramatically inhibited by EGFR-TKI.

Purpose Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is characterized by irreversible islet β cell destruction. Accumulative evidence indicated that Cdc42 and Wnt/β-catenin signaling both play a critical role in the pathogenesis and development of T1DM. Further, bio-molecular mechanisms in adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs)-derived insulin-producing cells (IPCs) remain largely unknown. Our aim was to investigate the underlying mechanism of Cdc42/Wnt/β-catenin pathway in ADSC-derived IPCs, which may provide new insights into the therapeutic strategy for T1DM patients. Methods ADSC induction was accomplished with DMSO under high-glucose condition. ML141 (Cdc42 inhibitor) and Wnt-3a (Wnt signaling activator) were administered to ADSCs from day 2 until the induction finished. Morphological changes were determined by an inverted microscope. Dithizone staining was employed to evaluate the induction of ADSC-derived IPCs. qPCR and Western blotting were employed to measure the mRNA and protein expression level of islet cell development-related genes and Wnt signaling-related genes. The proliferation ability of ADSC-derived IPCs was also detected with a cell counting kit (CCK) assay. The expression and secretion of Insulin were detected with immunofluorescence test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) respectively. Results During induction, morphological characters of ADSCs changed into spindle and round shape, and formed islet-line cell clusters, with brown dithizone-stained cytoplasm. Expression levels of islet cell development-related genes were up-regulated in ADSC-derived IPCs. Wnt-3a promoted Wnt signaling markers and islet cell development-related gene expression at mRNA and protein levels, while ML141 played a negative effect. Wnt-3a promoted ADSC-derived IPC proliferation and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), while ML141 played a negative effect. Conclusion Our research demonstrated that DMSO and high-glucose condition can induce ADSCs into IPCs, and Wnt signaling promotes the induction. Cdc42 may promote IPC induction, IPC proliferation and insulin secretion via Wnt/β-catenin pathway, meaning that Cdc42 may be regarded as a potential target in the treatment of T1DM.

This article presents an investigation of the modulation bandwidths of quantum-dot (QD) light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). The QLEDs used in our study are red-emissive CdSe/ZnS QLEDs, which have a structure of indium tin oxide (ITO)/poly(3.4-ethylene-dioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)/TFB/QD/ZnO/Al and an emitting area of 2 or 4 mm2. We find that at a small injection current (below ~10 mA), the effects of the resistance–capacitance (RC) time constant and the carrier lifetime on the bandwidths of the QLEDs are comparable, while at a large injection current, the bandwidths are mainly determined by the carrier lifetime. The response time of the QDs is not a limiting factor. The bandwidths of the QLEDs increase with the injection current and are eventually limited by the damage threshold current of the devices. At the same injection current, the QLED that has a smaller emitting area provides a larger current density, and thus exhibits a larger bandwidth. At an injection current of 28 mA, the 2-mm2 QLED provides a bandwidth of 11.4 MHz and a luminance value of 156 000 cd/m2, and the 4-mm2 QLED provides a bandwidth of 8.2 MHz and a luminance value of 97 000 cd/m2. Our investigation provides a guideline for QLED-bandwidth optimization and useful information for the further development of QLEDs for lighting, display, and communication applications.

Purpose: We investigate the diagnostic value and therapeutic effect of arthroscopy on the knee synovial fold syndrome. Methods: Thirty patients (35 knees) who has knee subgingival fold syndrome were treated with knee arthroscopy and medial temporal synovectomy. All these patients in this group were treated with epidural anesthesia and underwent arthroscopic surgery. MRI was used initially to diagnosis the orthopedic conditions before surgical intervention. At the second observation, it can be seen that the inner wrinkle is hard and it has a white cord-like shape. Generally, the wrinkled wall is fan-shaped, while some of the wrinkled walls are continuous with the upper, lower and outer wrinkles. Changes were evaluated using the Lysholm score in knee function before and after surgery. Results: The treatment is demonstrated: the preoperative average Lysholm score (51.37 ± 6.36), the average Lysholm score (93.00 ± 5.04), and the average improvement of 42 points. The difference between the preoperative and postoperative functional scores was statistically significant (t = 15.283, P < 0.05). Discussion: There are many reports on the synovial wrinkle syndrome in the knee synovial fold syndrome, and the report of the subclinical fold syndrome is extremely rare, and it is considered to be only a manifestation of other syndromes. This aspect shows that the incidence of the knee synovial fold syndrome is relatively low, on the other hand, it also shows that the current understanding of the knee synovial fold syndrome is insufficient. The knee synovial fold syndrome lesions occur mostly in young men and young adults, and are associated with trauma and excessive use of injuries, but the knee synovial fold syndrome and signs are not specific, easily misdiagnosed, and need to be diagnosed under arthroscopy. Arthroscopic treatment of the knee synovial fold syndrome is simple and safe, with less damage and quick recovery after surgery. Conclusion: Arthroscopy has obvious diagnostic value and good therapeutic effect on the knee synovial fold syndrome.

Purpose Metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is a global public health problem, is a state of chronic low-grade inflammation. This study looked at the changes in hematological parameters and the predictive value of the lymphocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (LHR) as a new index in subjects with and without MetS in coastal cities in southern China. Patients and methods In this cross-sectional study, there were 852 participants (n = 598 with MetS and n = 254 without MetS). MetS was defined in accordance with the National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria. Results MetS was positively correlated with white blood cell count, total lymphocyte count, neutrophil count, red blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels (p

To investigate the impact of preoperative immunological and nutritional status, using the prognostic nutritional index (PNI), on completion of planned adjuvant chemotherapy (AC), and the potential additive effects of low PNI and incomplete AC on gastric cancer-specific survival (CSS) after curative resection of stage II/III gastric cancer (GC). Medical records of 1288 consecutive stage II/III GC patients who underwent curative resection and planned to receive AC between November 2010 and December 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. The optimal cut-off value of PNI for CSS was determined by X-tile. The independent predictive factors for incomplete AC were identified using univariate and multivariate analyses. Cox regression analyses assessed the association of low PNI, incomplete AC and CSS. Of the 1288 patients, 406 (31.5%) completed at least six cycles of AC within 6 months following initial of AC (complete AC). Low PNI (

Chain-die forming is an emerging technique for manufacturing AHSS component as an alternative to roll forming. The pronounced springback of AHSS due to their high strength is a key factor in chain-die blocks design. In this paper, a modified Chaboche hardening model that assumes a Hollomon–Voce combined equation and incorporates variation of elastic modulus is established to better describe hardening behaviors of AHSS. An analytical method for rapid prediction of springback of a U-channel is developed and then combined with an optimization algorithm to minimize springback. The springback compensation is validated by a chain-die forming experiment of a QP1180 U-channel by using the optimal die blocks. The proposed analytical modeling method provides a fast and effective tool for die block design of U-channel chain-die forming.

CCN3 is a novel adipokine and has emerged as a potential metabolic regulator. However, information regarding the role of CCN3 in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains unclear. This study measured for the first time serum CCN3 levels in T2DM and explored the correlations between its serum levels and various metabolic parameters in humans.A total of 219 newly diagnosed T2DM (nT2DM) patients and 205 healthy control subjects, matched for age and sex ratio, were enrolled. Circulating CCN3 and TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1 were measured by ELISA. The anthropometric assessment and biochemical evaluation were done in all subjects. OGTT were performed in 34 healthy individuals to investigate the association of CCN3 with glucose.Serum CCN3 levels were significantly higher in nT2DM patients compared to those of the healthy controls (6.71[4.88, 8.56] vs. 4.51[3.55, 5.99] ng/ml, P 0.01). Serum CCN3 positively correlated with BMI, WC, FAT%, TG, FPG, 2 h-PG, HbA1c, FIns, HOMA-IR, hs-CRP and TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1, but negatively with HOMA-β in all individuals (P 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that BMI, HOMA-IR, TNF-α and MCP-1 were independently associated with CCN3. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that CCN3 was correlated with nT2DM. Finally, area under ROC curve of CCN3 (gender and age adjusted) for predicting the presence of nT2DM was 0.725(95% CI: 0.676-0.773). After an oral glucose challenge, there was no obvious change in the circulating levels of CCN3 as compared to 0 min (P 0.05).Elevation of CCN3 in nT2DM supports the hypothesis that CCN3 may serve as a risk factor associated with the pathogenesis of T2DM.

Eye tracking is widely used in modern intelligent applications, such as HCI, somatosensory game and fatigue driving. Traditional eye tracking system based on Haar-like features or external hardware, which is loss of accuracy and complicated. It is obviously that human gaze point is related to head pose. However, the label of head pose in most dataset is ambiguous. So in this paper, we propose a crowdsourced system which can collect large-scale dataset for eye tracking. For better performance, we leverage head guidance point and random dot instead of fixed dot as the concern when capture frames from camera. And different illumination, poses and persons also considered for robust performance. And we propose a two-phase CNN training strategy for combining head pose and eye angles. The proposed CNN architecture can reduce the overfitting when we train eye tracking models with head pose directly. The experimental results show that our proposed method can perform well in eye tracking.

Purpose To investigate the effect of cold and room temperature tumescence anesthesia solution (TAS) on the treatment of lower limb varicose veins via endovenous laser ablation. Design On the basis of the TAS temperature, patients were divided into two groups: group A (n = 26) received room temperature (24°C) TAS, and group B (n = 25) received cold (4°C) TAS. Methods A numerical rating scale was used to evaluate pain. Perioperative and intraoperative nursing care and clinical observations were performed following a generalized standard. Findings Percentages of patients who felt pain in groups A and B were 69.2% and 36.0%. Average numerical rating scale scores of patients in the two groups (A and B) on the day of surgery and on postoperative days 1, 2, and 3 were 4.3 versus 2.1, 3.5 versus 1.0, 3.0 versus 0.8, and 1.6 versus 0.3, respectively. Conclusions Cold TAS reduces intraoperative and postoperative pain more effectively than room temperature.

Chain-die forming, as a newly developed technology, is considered as an alternative method to fabricate AHSS automotive structural parts. The longitudinal bow is one of the most general geometric deviations of cold-formed materials. This paper utilizes analytical modelling, finite element analysis and experimental verification to disclose the mechanism of the formation of the longitudinal bow of Chain-die forming of AHSS profiles. To improve accuracy, the Chaboche hardening model is adopted in the simulation work to characterize the Bauschinger effect of the AHSS products. A detailed comparison of the mechanisms of the formation of the longitudinal bow of Chain-die-formed and roll-formed AHSS profiles is carried out to emphasize their differences. The analytical model indicates that, in contrast to roll-formed profiles, longitudinal bow in Chain-die-formed profiles is primarily caused by the elastic recovery of the accumulated incremental plastic deformation in the bend corner. It can be understood as a follow-up phenomenon accompanied by springback. With a certain material, its severity is related to the thickness, the bend corner radius and the second moment of area of a product. This is consistent with the simulation and experimental results. Finally, a comprehensive numerical investigation is used to quantify the effect of critical parameters on the longitudinal bow.

Energy storage is one of the highest priority challenges in transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Fluctuating, intermittent primary renewable sources such as wind and solar require low-carbon storage options to enable effective load matching, ensuring security of supply. Chemical storage is one such option, with low or zero carbon fuels such as hydrogen, alcohols and ammonia having been proposed. Ammonia provides zero-carbon hydrogen storage whilst offering liquefaction at relatively low pressures and atmospheric temperatures, enabling ease of transportation in a pre-existing infrastructure. Ammonia can also be used directly as a fuel in power plants such as gas turbines to avoid complete conversion back to hydrogen. It is a relatively unreactive fuel, and so it is of interest to explore the potential utilisation of ammonia/hydrogen mixtures. Hence, the goal of this paper is to provide a first assessment of the suitability of a chosen 70%NH330%H2 (%vol) blend for utilisation within a gas turbine environment, based on primary combustion diagnostics including combustion stability – via OH chemiluminescence - and emissions (NOx and NH3). An established optical generic swirl-burner enabled studies of the influence of equivalence ratio (φ > 1), ambient temperature (

OBJECTIVES To explore the effects of acupoint application therapy (AAT) with TianGui Powder (TGP) on the expressions of the transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and Smad-2/3 signaling pathway in ovariectomized osteoporosis rats. METHODS Sixty rats were randomly divided into four groups: normal group (group A), model group (group B), TGP group (group C), and Western medicine group (group D). Group A had only the corresponding amount of adipose tissue around the ovary removed; rats in the other groups had bilateral ovariectomies. After 1 week, groups A and B were given 1 mL/100 mg normal saline solution by gavage, group C was treated with AAT with TGP on ShenQue acupoint (0.2 piece/rat, 6 h/time, 1 time/d) and group D was given calcium carbonate vitamin D3 (36 mg/kg/d) and alfacalcidol (0.05 μg/kg/d) tablet suspension. In this study, the bone mineral density (BMD) , the levels of BALP, TRAP-5b, and BGP in serum and the changes in bone histomorphology was detected. For acquiring lumbar experimental data, the expression of TGF-β1, Smad-2/3 proteins and mRNA of TGF-β1and Smad-2/3 were assessed. After 12 weeks, the data were collected for analysis. RESULTS Compared with group A, the bone trabecula was thinner and significantly reduced in other groups. The result of BMD improved significantly in both groups C and D compared to group B after intervention (P < 0.05). In contrast, compared to group B, the levels of BALP, TRAP-5b, and BGP significantly declined in both groups C and D. In group C, the results of protein expressions in TGF-β1, Smad-2/3 were 2.870 ± 0.270, 1.552 ± 0.111, and 1.420 ± 0.079, respectively. In groups C and D, those indications significantly declined compared to group B (P < 0.01). In group C, the level of mRNA expressions of TGF-β1, Smad-2/3 were 1.872 ± 0.177, 1.672 ± 0.086, and 1.790 ± 0.136, respectively. Compared with group B, those indications had significant difference in groups C and D (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Acupoint application therapy with TGP could significantly improve the BMD. The TGF-β1 and Smad-2/3 signaling pathway could be a therapeutic target of TGP in postmenopausal osteoporosis rats.

AIM: To investigate the expression of visual system homeobox 1 (VSX1) and myofibroblast marker alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in keratoconus (KC). METHODS: Thirty corneal tissue were collected from KC patients after corneal transplantation and 15 normal donor corneas were obtained. All corneal tissues divided into 4 parts for different detections. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the ultrastructure of the specimens. VSX1 and α-SMA localization in cornea tissues was detected using immunofluorescence histochemistry. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot were performed to analyze the expression level of VSX1 and α-SMA. RESULTS: Compared to normal cornea tissue, the collagen fibers in KC stroma were distortional and attenuated and keratocytes were abnormally changed. VSX1 and α-SMA located in the corneal stroma. The mRNA and protein expression level of VSX1 in KC were about 3 times as high as that of normal tissue (P

To provide a first insight into combustion characteristics of ammonia-based fuel in gas turbine engines for power generation, a generic swirl burner is tested with ammonia/hydrogen mixtures in this study. Based on the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation results, Chemical Reaction Network (CRN) model is developed to study the NOx emission characteristics of different ammonia/hydrogen mixtures in a gas turbine swirl burner. The NOx emission results predicted by the CRN model using Konnov’s mechanism have shown satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. The parameter study are then performed to estimate the effect of pressure, inlet temperature and equivalence ratio. Areas are identified which more attention for model development and emission need control in future studies.

Background Zinc-α2-glycoprotein (ZAG) is a recently novel lipolytic adipokine implicated in regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism in many metabolic disorders. In vitro and animal studies suggest that thyroid hormones (TH) up-regulates ZAG production in hepatocytes. However, there is no data evaluating the possible relationship between ZAG and TH in a human model of hyperthyroidism. The objective of the present study is to assess the association of serum ZAG levels with TH and lipid profile in patients with hyperthyroidism before and after methimazole treatment. Methods A total of 120 newly diagnosed overt hyperthyroidism and 122 healthy control subjects were recruited. Of them, 39 hyperthyroidism patients were assigned to receive methimazole treatment as follow-up study for 2 months. Results The clinical consequence showed that serum ZAG levels were elevated in patients with hyperthyroidism (P

Objective: To compare the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) based on Zheng differentiation with angiotensin receptor blocker/angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ARB/ACEI) in treating diabetic kidney disease (DKD) from the aspects of decreasing urinary microalbumin, declining 24-h urinary protein, reducing endpoint events, and renal function protection. Methods: The Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), the Chinese Academy of Sciences database (CNKI), the VIP Chinese journal database, Wanfang DATA, Medline database, Cochrane library, excerpt medical database (Embase), and Web of science were used for literature searching. The reviewer manager 5.3 software was utilized to analyze the data. Results: Twenty-four studies including 1956 participants were involved in this review. Results showed that TCM had a better effect (mean difference [MD], −23.20, 95% confidence interval [CI], −30.60 to −15.79, P < 0.00001) than ARB/ACEI on lowering urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (MD −4.56 mg/mmol, 95% CI, −5.76 to −3.36, P < 0.00001). Moreover, the advantage of decreasing UAER was greater as the follow-up period become longer (P = 0.04). TCM also had a better effect in 24-h urinal protein, decreasing 0.36 g/24 h (95% CI, −0.45 to −0.27, P < 0.00001) more than the control in shorter follow-up period (ranged from 12 to 24 weeks) subgroup but only 0.08 g/24 h (95% CI, −0.13 to −0.03, P = 0.0006) in the longer follow-up period (>24 weeks) subgroup. TCM worked as well as ACEI/ARB in reducing endpoint events (relative risk, 0.67, 95% CI, 0.20–2.224, P = 0.51) and decreasing urinary albumin concentration (UAC) (MD, −16.50, 95% CI, −46.28–13.28, P = 0.28). As for protecting renal function, TCM had an equal effect to AECI/ARB in improving creatinine clearance ratio (MD, −3.30, 95% CI, −6.66–0.03, P = 0.05) or estimated glomerular filtration rate (MD, 1.00, 95% CI, −0.59–2.58, P = 0.22). However, TCM had a better effect in releasing the glomerular hyperfiltration state (MD, −9.64, 95% CI, −14.45 to −4.84, P < 0.0001). Conclusions: TCM based on Zheng differentiation can work as well as ACEI/ARB in treating DKD and even better in decreasing urinary microalbumin and releasing glomerular hyperfiltration. It is a good alternative treatment of DKD.

Purpose: Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a novel class of noncoding RNAs, have recently drawn lots of attention in the pathogenesis of human cancers. However, the role of circRNAs in cancer cells epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify novel circRNAs that regulate urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) cells’ EMT and explored their regulatory mechanisms and clinical significance in UCBs. Experimental Design: We first screened circRNA expression profiles using a circRNA microarray in paired UCB and normal tissues, and then studied the clinical significance of an upregulated circRNA, circPRMT5, in a large cohort of patients with UCB. We further investigated the functions and underlying mechanisms of circPRMT5 in UCB cells’ EMT. Moreover, we evaluated the regulation effect of circPRMT5 on miR-30c, and its target genes, SNAIL1 and E-cadherin, in two independent cohorts from our institute and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Results: We demonstrated that upregulated expression of circPRMT5 was positively associated with advanced clinical stage and worse survival in patients with UCB. We further revealed that circPRMT5 promoted UCB cell's EMT via sponging miR-30c. Clinical analysis from two independent UCB cohorts showed that the circPRMT5/miR-30c/SNAIL1/E-cadherin pathway was essential in supporting UCB progression. Importantly, we identified that circPRMT5 was upregulated in serum and urine exosomes from patients with UCB, and significantly correlated with tumor metastasis. Conclusions: CircPRMT5 exerts critical roles in promoting UCB cells’ EMT and/or aggressiveness and is a prognostic biomarker of the disease, suggesting that circPRMT5 may serve as an exploitable therapeutic target for patients with UCB.